Posted on 01/05/2006 9:09:35 AM PST by DogBarkTree
A Mexican man shot and killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent has been identified as a people smuggler, adding a new dimension to the heated debate over last week's incident.
The Associated Press quoted a Border Patrol spokesman, Raul Martinez, who is based in the San Diego office, as saying the victim – Guillermo Martínez – was "a known people smuggler who had been detained 11 times prior."
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However, shortly afterward, the agency's San Diego office refused to comment on Raul Martinez's statement and forwarded all inquiries to the Border Patrol's Washington headquarters. The spokesman and the man who was shot are not related.
Michael Friel, a spokesman with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Washington, wouldn't directly confirm or deny Martinez's statements.
"We are fully cooperating with the San Diego Police Department's investigation, and we are providing by their request any criminal or immigration records we have," Friel said.
The case is being investigated in the United States by the San Diego Police Department. Homicide Lt. Kevin Rooney said the department doesn't comment on a person's criminal background – "whether they have it or not" – during an investigation.
The incident has touched off a firestorm of accusations in Mexico over U.S. immigration policy and allegations of improper use of force.
Guillermo Martínez was shot Friday during an encounter with a Border Patrol agent. Martínez managed to cross back into Mexico where he died at a hospital a day later.
Border Patrol officials said the shooting was in self-defense after someone threw rocks at the agent. Such assaults on agents have increased in the area where the shooting took place east of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, they said.
"It's a constant threat out there," said Shawn Moran, vice president of Local 1613 of the National Border Patrol Council, a union representing Border Patrol agents.
In Mexico, the federal Attorney General's Office has taken over the case from Baja California state agents, who determined Martínez was shot in the back at a distance of between 6 feet and 17 feet.
A search through U.S. federal court records found no clear connection between a Guillermo Martínez and people smuggling. However, federal courts are overwhelmed by the numbers of people involved in smuggling and crossing the country illegally and reserve prosecution for the most extreme cases, Moran said.
"I've seen people caught dozens of times who haven't been prosecuted because the thresholds are so high for people smuggling," Moran said.
A spokesman with the Mexican Consul's office in San Diego declined to comment on the case yesterday, but said the office continues to condemn the killing and that consulate officials aren't aware of Martínez having a criminal record. News reports have listed Martínez's age as 18, but a sister in Tijuana, who denied rumors he was involved in smuggling people, said he was 20.
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Hmmm, I wonder if any more illegals will throw rocks at our agents now ?
ping
Whos improper use of force?
Our own democrats will take over that duty.
Yes, the crack Mexican police, who solve so many crimes through their state-of-the-art forensics, are on the case. Someone should just do what anyone in Mexico in trouble with the police does - slip them a $50
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Support our Minutemen Patriots!
Be Ever Vigilant ~ Bump!
I hope it is our policy to respond to rock throwers with bullets. It is ridiculous that our BP Agents are expected to accept being rocked like targets in a shooting gallery without response. Where are the gunships and the air to surface missiles?
That says it all in a nutshell about our current Border Policies. Build the GD Fence - Now!
sThe only lesson here is:
Don't bring a rock to a gun fight!
We need more trigger happy BP, not less!
Didn't he hear that EL GRINGO PRESIDENTE BUSH gave southwestern US hospitals over $ 1B last year for this very purpose??
I wanted to be a 'people smuggler' when I was little...
Fine by me too. He's been screwing with our immigration laws for far too long. He's dead and gone and good for that
No kidding. Throw a rock at a federala and see what happens.
Shoot, shovel and shut up would be a good Coyote solution. When enough of them disappear, the rest may look for other work.
One down.
Rinse. Repeat.
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